Marks & Spencer (M&S) is aiming to recruit more than 2,000 extra staff in Scotland to cope with demand over the festive period.

The retailer said the jobs push was part of a wider plan to boost staffing numbers by an extra 20,000 across more 500 UK and Republic of Ireland stores.

Last year around one in five of the 15,000 recruits taken on over Christmas were made permanent employees after finishing their seasonal contracts, M&S said.

Steve Rowe, director of retail at M&S, said:“Customers turn to M&S for the most important occasions, trusting us to deliver delicious Christmas lunch, latest fashions or fantastic customer service.

“We want to make sure that our customer needs are met so we’re putting the call out for 20,000 passionate, service-centred recruits to come join the team and help make it a merry Christmas for millions of M&S shoppers.”

Applicants can find full role descriptions and details of the application process here